New York City — day 3

Posted on May 29, 2011 by djnpub

My last day in New York City, I followed some of Dan Jobe’s suggestions and took the double decker red Gray Line bus tours around the city. I had toyed with the idea of getting tickets to another play (would have been my fourth in four days), but luckily I chose not to as my touring day took all day and into the evening. The first tour route went downtown heading past various iconic NY sites as Penn Station, Madison Square Garden, the Empire State building, Macy’s, and through areas such as the garment district, Greenwich Village, SOHO, and Wall St. I hopped off at the south end of the loop by Battery Park, and walked up and through Wall St., which is a smaller, more compact area than I’d realized.

After grabbing a bite of lunch, I took the Staten Island Ferry which passed by Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty. It was a nice ride across, then after getting off and looking around briefly I took it back. It was nice to get out on the water, and get a little different perspective on the city. After returning to Manhattan, I hopped back on the bus, which looped back up along the east side. I again hopped off by the South Street Seaport and walked up towards the Brooklyn Bridge. It took a little doing, but I managed to find the pedestrian path and walked out to the first tower on the bridge. Amazing old stone construction of the towers, and beautiful patterns made by the supporting cables. It’s a little weird that the pedestrians (which were thick) are on a level over the traffic; the trash barrels were filled to overflowing with plastic bottles, and I could just imagine stuff dropping down on the traffic below. This walk provided some great views and I took lots of pictures. I made my way back to the bus line and completed the downtown tour, through the East Village, and past the UN again. Although that tour should only take about 2 1/2 hours, with all my side trips, it was late afternoon by the time we got back to Times Square.

I then hopped on the last run of the uptown tour loop. At this point I was fairly tired (and it was the last bus of the day anyway), so I just sat and rode around the whole loop. It went around Central Park, through the West Side, past Lincoln Center, through Central Park West (where we caught a glimpse of Yoko Ohno), up by Riverside Drive, across through Harlem, and back down the East Side of Central Park. By the time I got back it was around 7 pm, so I’m glad I didn’t try and squeeze in another play. The bus tour was a great way to get a good broad sense of the various neighborhoods and sites of the city.

After I got back and cleaned up a bit, I went and had a relaxing Italian dinner on 9th Ave in Hell’s Kitchen. Afterward I stopped in Times Square again and took some night time pictures. I then had a nitecap at an Irish tavern and headed home.

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Jerusalem

Posted on May 28, 2011 by djnpub

At the end of my second day in New York City, I attended the play Jerusalem at the Music Box Theatre, starring Mark Rylance. This was my third play in three days, and it was great.

Prior to coming to NY, I’d never heard of this play (or Mark Rylance). Based on the theater-front advertising and some online research, I took a chance and got last minute tickets. Mark Rylance was the artistic director of the Globe Theatre in England for many years, and is a noted Shakespearean actor. This was a very English play, with a mostly English cast, in a very modern setting. It was basically about a counter culture guy living in a trailer out in the woods who is a gathering force for the local disaffected youth. The performance by Rylance was an amazing characterization. Now I’d like to see him in a normal character (or anything different) just to see how much was acting, and how much was him.

The only negative of my last minute decision was that I got a seat in the first row stage left. I was so close I could have rested my chin on the edge of the stage. The stage was covered with actual sod turf, and there was a nearly overwhelming scent of peat moss where I was sitting. The first minute of the play had a real jolt. It started with a young woman in fairy wings standing and singing a lovely quiet song. Then abruptly the lights went dark, and loud raucous music blasted out and you could see revelers dancing through the translucent curtain. The play then gets going with the main character coming out, and doing a head stand over a water bucket (right in front of me), dunking his head in and shaking it off, soaking all of us in the front row. It was a good vantage point for all the subsequent acting (if a bit low). It was an interesting story of an iconoclastic rebel, with later undertones of ancient English mysticism. The play lasted a little over three hours, with two brief intermissions, and all took place in one scene, but it moved along very quickly. It had great acting and I’m so glad I saw it.

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New York City — day 2

Posted on May 28, 2011 by djnpub

After a great start to my trip to NYC, my second day was composed of a random walking exploration of midtown Manhattan. I began by walking up 5th Ave to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Then I went over to Rockefeller Center. I decided to go up to The Top of the Rock where I got a great panoramic view of Manhattan: Central Park to the north, and the Empire State Building to the south. It took a while to get used to the height (~66-68 floors up), but it was a great view. Being way up there on that tall building I got a new perspective on the destruction of the twin towers on 9/11. They were probably 50% taller than that building, which seemed extremely tall, and it made me have a more realistic sense of what it meant to have them collapse. I spent quite a bit of time up there, and took a lot of pictures.

After grabbing a quick bite of lunch, I decided to go to the United Nations. As I walked down there, I passed an area where they appeared to be closing streets for some sort of Turkish parade. When I finally reached the UN, it was fairly underwhelming. There were no flags up (I later learned they only fly when the general assembly is in session), and the building itself was kind of dirty and showing signs of reconstruction. I did come across a nice little plaza named for a long time director for UNICEF that provided a nice shady place to sit down and rest for a while. As I made my way back towards the hotel, I crossed a section of 3rd Ave that was closed for a street fair (or just a street market) that was kind of interesting. I bought myself a cheap NYC souvenir T-shirt.

After stopping back by the hotel, I went into the International Center of Photography, which had some interesting exhibits including some photographs from right after the dropping of the atomic bombs in Japan. After the gallery, I walked over to Bryant Park where I watched some people playing on the petanque court. There was also a guy on the street playing bucket drums … but he was way more amazing than many other people I’ve seen doing that.

I decided to grab some pizza for dinner at a place across from my hotel. I was hoping to experience a true NY pizza by having a slice. Maybe I did. It was good, but I still like by California style pizzas better than anything I’ve had out east. After dinner, I headed to the Music Box Theatre for another Broadway play that I’d gotten a ticket for at the last minute, Jerusalem, staring the noted English Shakespearean actor Mark Rylance. It was another amazing performance. My third play in three days. Making my way back to the hotel after the play I again passed through the throngs of people haning out in Times Square. Part of me wanted to hang out late into the night, but after a very full and satisfying day I went to bed and got some rest.

To be continued …

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How to Succeed

Posted on May 27, 2011 by djnpub

Following a pleasant train ride, and an enjoyable Italian meal, I spent my first evening in New York by attending my first Broadway musical on Broadway. I went to How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying starring Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe and John Larroquette. It was at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre just on the other side of Times Square from my Hotel. It was great!

There was singing and dancing aplenty. I had seen the movie version decades ago, so I remembered the basic story. Dan Radcliffe was more than up to the task. While his voice wasn’t the strongest, he did a good job of singing and a great job of dancing. The staging and direction was very good and the whole show was a lot of fun. I have now experienced a show stopping theater moment. The best number of the show is the song near the end “The Brotherhood of Man.” It has the catchiest tune, and great dancing, and just builds with an infectious enthusiasm that made the audience erupt with applause. It just left you optimistic and happy. A great first play in New York.

As the show let out around 11:00 we poured out onto sidewalks which were unbelievably packed with people. I made my way thorough Times Square which was filled with people and throbbing despite the late hour. NY lived up to the “city that never sleeps” moniker.

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New York City — day 1

Posted on May 27, 2011 by djnpub

Making some last minute plans, I finally made my way to New York City for the long holiday weekend. It turned out to be a great vacation. Following a somewhat late night of theater in DC at the Folger Shakespeare Library, I took the Amtrak train up to Penn Station in midtown Manhattan. In doing so, I passed through Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and finally to New York, a number of which were states I’d never been in before. It was an enjoyable way to travel. Reaching my destination I made my way on foot to my hotel, which was about 2 1/2 blocks from Times Square, and a similar distance from Rockefeller Center. Even though it was a Friday afternoon the sidewalks were teeming with people. New York pedestrians seem hell bent on jaywalking, and New York drivers love their horns. The hotel was interesting, 45 stories tall, with only about 8 rooms on each floor. The room was fairly tiny, but nice; and best of all it was centrally located for my interests.

Before leaving DC I had purchased a ticket to a Broadway play for my first night, so after getting settled in and catching my breath I identified a nearby restaurant for dinner. Following a nice Italian dinner, I headed across Times Square to the Al Hirschfeld Theatre to see How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Around Times square, the sidewalks were teeming with people … so many you could hardly cross the streets because there was nowhere to get to when you got to the other side. It’s hard to imagine so many people always around this area. I eventually made it to the crowds to the theatre. It was my first Broadway musical, and I saw in on Broadway … and it was wonderful. I got out of the play around 11:00, and Times Square was even more crowded than before … absolutely packed. I went back to my hotel for some rest after a long, but very enjoyable day.

To be continued …

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Cyrano

Posted on May 26, 2011 by djnpub

Tonight I attended my last play at the Folger Theatre, Cyrano. This was sort of the first of a bunch of lasts as my time in DC is quickly drawing to a close. The play was well acted with a relatively small cast, several of them who played multiple roles. It was pretty much a basic telling of the Cyrano de Bergerac story, so no major surprises. While the time period of the play was traditional, the language of the play contained lots of American idioms, which I felt kind of took away from it. One mildly interesting aspect was in the opening scene, which takes place in a theater, cast members were spread around the audience, and the audience was lit, so it made it seem like the audience was part of the audience in the play. An entertaining evening of theater, but I wasn’t blown away.

On my walk home, I was able to take some nice night shots of the capitol as I had brought my camera along. Today was the first bad summer-type day of heat an humidity. On my walk home after 10 pm it was still 80° and 60% humidity. Yuck. Still a great scenic walk after an evening of theater.

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More unexpected fun

Posted on May 22, 2011 by djnpub

Saturday turned out to be filled with unexpected fun. After spending the morning doing some chores, I noticed some interesting clouds forming out east that looked like a good photographic opportunity. By the time I finished my laundry and got out to the mall, the clouds had moved a bit, but I still got a few photos. In walking about, I discovered that they had closed off a section of Pennsylvania Ave for a street fair celebrating Asian heritage. After checking that out for a bit I decided to head home.

Just as I was finishing taking some pictures at the navy memorial, I ran across Kathy who suggested meeting up later to tour around Old Town Alexandria. I took the metro over and we connected up for a stroll down King Street, which has a nice collection of shops and restaurants. We ended up down at the waterfront, and had a nice dinner overlooking the Potomac. After a nice dinner, and watching the prom night crowds, Kathy found a Scottish heritage store and picked up some presents. Then we stumbled across an Irish bar that had live music, so we went in and stayed through several sets of singer Pat Carroll. I didn’t get home till the wee hours, but it was an unexpectedly fun day that started out fairly plain.

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Embassy Row and the National Cathedral

Posted on April 30, 2011 by djnpub

Seeing the Washington National Cathedral has been on my list for a long time, and as time is getting short I decided to make the trek up there. Since the last time I’d been on embassy row, to an event at the British Embassy, I’d been shooed out by the police, I had pretty much avoided that part of town. But a year or so had passed, and without much planning I decided to adventure out. I walked from Dupont Circle about 2 1/4 miles up the gradual hill, past all the embassies, crossing over Rock Creek Park, past the Naval Observatory to the National Cathedral. I was a little surprised that without any pre-arrangements you could just go inside and look around. From the outside it is an impressive stone structure looking similar in style to Westminster Abbey. Inside is very beautiful with lots of high arches and stained glass. As I didn’t really plan ahead for a tour, I got there pretty late and spent less than half an hour inside. It is a very impressive church and I’m glad I got to visit it.

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Servathon 2011

Posted on April 16, 2011 by djnpub

Saturday morning I participated in Servathon 2011, a volunteer day in DC staged three times a year by Greater DC Cares. This is a major event throughout the city. Kathy had coordinated this and I was on her “team” which also included Maureen, Donna, and Tom. We ended up helping out with the Emergence Community Arts Collective (ECAC). We started by folding some fliers that some of the teams would be distributing to people’s houses, and then our team picked up trash along a one mile stretch of Georgia Ave. When Kathy picked an outside activity, she was thinking it was going to be a nice spring day. Unfortunately it was cold and rainy all morning so by the time we reached the end we were all like drowned dogs. Nevertheless, it was fun and we definitely made an improvement in the area by removing a lot of trash, all the way from Howard University up to the Metro station.

Afterward, we all went over to a restaurant by Dupont Circle and had some lunch (and tried to warm up). A fun and satisfying way to spend a Saturday, even if the weather didn’t cooperate.

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The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs

Posted on April 6, 2011 by djnpub

Tonight I saw another one-man play at Woolly Mammoth. WOW! Mike Daisey performed his play The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs. For just under two hours he sat at a silver desk on a black stage with a background of linear computer-like light patterns. I really didn’t know what to expect. It started out as a humorous presentation from a techno-geek’s point of view of his (our) obsession with the latest gadgets (particularly Apple), that threaded some stories of Steve Jobs into it. The story then bounced back and forth between the tech-lover/Steve Jobs story to telling about his going to China to Shenzhen, a largely unknown city of a special economic zone, where most of the electronics in the world is produced today. He also talked about the huge Foxconn plant which employees 400,000 people and makes more than half of our electronic gadgets. It was quite moving to learn most of these things are actually hand made by workers, including some who are very young, who work long hours with very bad conditions and are basically treated like serfs. It was eye opening. I can’t recall being so moved by a piece of theater and being informed while at the same time being entertained. Woolly Mammoth has turned out to be a really great theater experience.

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